15 Nov 10
Originally posted by ThabtosDoesn't it somehow relate to the quality of opponent?
Generally speaking, when someone plays hundreds of games and their win percentage is 20 points higher than the best people ever to play the game, something strange might be afoot. For instance a record of 451 -88 =249 would be piss-poor for some of the 2000+ players here.
15 Nov 10
Originally posted by Thabtosa high winning percentage only means that you haven't played against your peers, but instead much weaker opponents. on average. a 50% score means you've been playing equal opposition, and anything less than that means you've been playing higher rated opponents.
Generally speaking, when someone plays hundreds of games and their win percentage is 20 points higher than the best people ever to play the game, something strange might be afoot.
For instance a record of 451 -88 =249 would be piss-poor for some of the 2000+ players here.
in open tournaments a high rated player normally gets only lower rated opponents until the last rounds. so the winning percentages end up on the high side for all strong players.
15 Nov 10
1 edit
Originally posted by ThabtosEveryone has bad days, indeed. And even the best makes mistakes, sometimes outright blunders. So you're right to be sceptical of single figure losses in 800+ games, even from 400+ games in here.
...playing 800+ games with only 3-4 losses seems kind of suspect to me. Everybody has bad days.
Why? Well, quite simply, even in the absence of any other evidence, one knows from those banned that some players use engines. By obvious deduction, they will be among the more highly-rated players. So it follows that those who are also highly rated, myself included, must have met and beaten engines on the way up. So if your losses are in single figures, and your draws few too, after >100 games, you must be beating engines pretty regularly. Now that simply isn't possible.
Engines can be held sometimes by a competent, well-tutored player; occasionally beaten too if the engine is in the hands of a weak player. I've managed both, aided by good fortune in some cases. But there is no possibility in here that, unaided and taking opponents as they come, one can rack up >400 games, achieve a high rating, and concede only a handful of losses.
